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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

Vancouver Whitecaps’ Tom Heinemann, right, celebrates his game-tying goal with teammate Kenny Miller, of Scotland, during the second half of an MLS soccer game against Chivas USA in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, September 1, 2013.

Photograph by: DARRYL DYCK
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — Camilo and Kenny Miller have gone as cold as an Inuvik winter. David Ousted isn’t Harry Houdini, or even the miraculous Jaime Penedo. And BC Place is no longer the Vancouver Whitecaps fortress.

But a reeling and then increasingly desperate Caps squad somehow salvaged a 2-2 tie Sunday afternoon against Western Conference bottom-feeder Chivas USA to stay in the playoff race.

Vancouver, the last MLS team to lose on home turf this season but losers of two of their last three under the king’s crown at False Creek, looked in grave danger of dropping a game players had called a “must win” when Chivas scored two early goals.

But a seeing-eye 40-yard strike from Gershon Koffie in the 64th minute and a stoppage time tally from substitute Tom Heinemann on a nifty setup from another sub, Erik Hurtado, allowed the Caps, 10-9-7, to escape with a single point.

“It was an entertaining game, but obviously one where,inexplicably, we started slowly again,” said Caps head coach Martin Rennie. “That’s very, very frustrating.

“But you’ve got to look at what we did from there. We stuck in, we kept going, we had to make a lot of changes, change our system. And the players showed a lot of heart, a lot of desire and a lot of belief. In the end that’s going to be what we require down this next eight games to get results (and make the playoffs).”

The single point moved the Caps into a sixth-place tie with FC Dallas, whom they meet in Frisco, Tex., next Saturday in the first of three consecutive road games.

Vancouver is two points back of Colorado and Portland, who both lost on the weekend and are tied for fourth. But the Caps have the toughest closing schedule of any of the teams in the hunt for the five playoff spots in the West.

With influential midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker sitting out Sunday due to an accumulation of yellow cards, the Caps lacked the necessary focus early and found themselves down 2-0 to a club that had just five wins coming in, only one of them on the road.

“When we found ourselves down 2-0 it was tough on us,” said Hurtado. “Second half we came back and fought. Not a lot of teams don’t have that in them to come back and at least get a tie. That just shows the character of this team. We’re going to give up when we go down.”

Rookie speedster Kekuta Manneh started for just the third time this season, lining up wide left with right side winger Russell Teibert dropping into more of a midfield role. But that lineup didn’t work particularly well and Teibert was pulled off in the 56th minute and replaced by another rookie speedster in Hurtado.

Rennie later brought on skilled midfielder Daigo Kobayashi and then, throwing all caution to the wind, inserted Heinemann, six-foot-three stiker, for centre back Andy O’Brien in the 80th minute.

The Caps got one goal back in the 64th minute off a terrible mistake by Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. He roamed outside of the Chivas box to clear a ball from near the end line. It went straight to Koffie, whose bending strike from 40 yards caught Kennedy going the wrong way as he scrambled back to the goal and the ball went just inside the post.

It was the first goal by a Caps midfielder since May 18.

Miller, who has just one goal in his last eight games, Camilo, one in his last five, and Hurtado all missed terrific chances in the final 25 minutes before Hurtado crossed a short ball to the top of the six-yard box that Heinemann slotted past Kennedy. It was Heinemann’s first goal of the MLS season.

“It’s good to get a point, but ultimately we’re all a little disappointed we didn’t get three tonight,” said Heinemann.

The game wasn’t even three minutes old when disaster struck for the Caps, who have clearly lost whatever magic or mojo they once had at B.C. Place.

A cross into the top of the Vancouver box was headed straight up into the air by O’Brien in battle with Erick Torres. As O’Brien scrambled to find the ball and no other Whitecap made a move on Torres, the young Mexican coolly got into position and, with his back to goal, unleashed a brilliant bicycle kick to the top right corner past a stunned Ousted in the Caps’ goal.

“It was a nice move, but we can’t allow those kind of goals,” said Ousted.

It was the second consecutive game, both at home, in which the Caps had surrendered a goal in the third minute.

Miller had a chance to respond quickly for Vancouver, getting behind the Chivas defence to bring down a long Matt Watson pass at the top right of the Rojiblancos’ box. He moved in about five yards and tried to go short side on Kennedy, only to have the ball carom off the base of the post and out of play.

By the 14th minute, it was 2-0 Chivas. Midfielder Edgar Mejia moved easily around a leaping Manneh near the right sideline and delivered a perfect cross to the penalty spot. Torres, who had found some open space between centre backs O’Brien and Johnny Leveron, went up high and headed the ball past the outstretched right hand of Ousted.

Vancouver didn’t threaten the Chivas goal again until late in the half, when Kennedy punched a Manneh blast from just inside the box over the cross bar and Miller shot high and wide after being set up 25 yards out by Teibert.

Vancouver Whitecaps’ Tom Heinemann, right, celebrates his game-tying goal with teammate Kenny Miller, of Scotland, during the second half of an MLS soccer game against Chivas USA in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, September 1, 2013.

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